The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Neck problems are very common amongst humans due to a wide range of causes, including anything from poor posture to arthritis to broken bones. Neck braces can be essential to alleviate existing pain and prevent further injury, but are often too uncomfortable or immobilizing to wear for long periods of time. Moreover, many neck braces incorporate a one-size-fits-all model that is not tailored to the needs of individual wearers.
Some previous efforts have been directed toward design of neck braces that provide for improved comfort and tailoring to individual wearers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,038,635 to Dellanno, titled “Forward Head Posture Correction Collar,” filed on Dec. 16, 2008 describes a forward head position correction collar that allows a chin piece to be manually adjusted with respect to a shoulder collar assembly, in a vertical direction, and a horizontal axis extending in an anterior-posterior direction, in similar proportions. Unfortunately, Dellanno fails to provide for sufficient support of the occipital region of a wearer.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0185130 to Rizo Patron, titled “Custom Fit Cervical Collar,” filed on Dec. 2, 2009 attempts to address some of the problems discussed above and describes a cervical collar that includes an occipital support region. However, the collar is designed to improve immobilization of the head and neck regions of a wearer in relation to the thorax, and does not provide for separate occipital support panels, movement of the occipital support for increased comfort, or a user friendly height adjustment mechanism that allows an adjustment of a vertical position of the occipital lobe support relative to the rear panel.
There are also various neck braces designed to be worn under a helmet to enhance the protection given by a helmet or protect against neck injuries while wearing a helmet, such as those described in European Patent No. 2117481 to Mazzarolo, filed on Jan. 3, 2007, International Patent Publication No. 2008/050307 to Leatt, filed on Oct. 26, 2007, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,846,117 to Leatt, filed on Jul. 17, 2007. Unfortunately, these braces also include many of the deficiencies described above, and have limited applications.
Thus, there is still a need for neck braces that provide improved comfort and modularity.